I was a part of transforming from paper-based medical records to a digital system for underserved communities.
There were no engineering obstacles to digital transformation such as implementation, security and privacy, infrastructure, and resource requirements. However, there are major challenges in user perspectives.
_ Users enjoy writing records on paper more than data entry into the software system.
_ Users spend more time on digital data entry than paper-based recording for a single record.
These two facts remain valid after two years of use.
On the bright side, there are many benefits of using EMR in conflict-affected areas.
_ Data are protected against physical destruction of records.
_ Data are accessible anywhere anytime (stored on the cloud).
_ Displaced patients can access their records at different health facilities.
_ Healthcare providers/donors can review aggregated accurate data summary
_ Assist in disease surveillance and investigation
_ Assist in effective management and provisioning of vaccines and medicine
While offering many benefits, two key disadvantages mentioned above present a significant risk of a domino effect, impacting all aspects of the situation. No data flow, no users – the software is essentially dead.